Platte River NAVHDA

Twenty-one dogs. Sixteen kennels. Fourteen handlers. Eight versatile breeds.

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Over three days at the Platte River NAVHDA test, those numbers came together around something much larger—the dedication, sportsmanship and camaraderie that define the NAVHDA community.

Every dog and handler brought their own story to the field, and a few moments proved especially memorable.

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Lawler’s Lil Snowfall on Cedar provided one of them, taking out a section of fence in pursuit of a downed bird—and prompting suggestions that Surefire Kennels handler Sarah Haysacker might start a Colorado fencing business, putting back up whatever Lawler takes down.

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As it turned out, that fence wasn’t finished being part of the weekend’s story.

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Later that same day, on the opposite side, Some Bearded Gun Dogs Have a Wisco Wire’s Gin, “Ginny,” pointed a bird that had already been put up once in the field. When the bird flushed again, it crossed the field boundary before being brought down, adding another memorable chapter to the life of one suddenly noteworthy stretch of fence.

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Those moments were part of a weekend filled with dogs working, handlers adapting, judges watching carefully, and volunteers doing the countless things required to make a three-day test possible.

The photographs in this collection tell a small part of that story—a weekend spent celebrating versatile hunting dogs and the people, traditions and community surrounding them.